In the News: Geoff Calkins, Kyle Veazey honored by APSE

The Commercial Appeal's Geoff Calkins ranked in the Top 10 for column writing in the 2011 Associated Press Sports Editors' contest for the 75,001-175,000 circulation class. Sports enterprise reporter Kyle Veazey placed in the Top 10 in the projects category. Contest winners will be announced in April.

Calkins, who joined The Commercial Appeal in 1996, won the APSE column-writing contest in 2006 and 2001, and has numerous Top 10 finishes. His 2011 entry included columns ranging from an account of Shane Battier's game-winning playoff shot for the Grizzlies to the story of Rhodes College football coach Dan Gritti, who was a New York City attorney during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Veazey joined The Commercial Appeal last June. His Top 10 project was an examination of the University of Memphis football program, which was struggling on and off the field in a time of unprecedented change on the college landscape.

The Top 10 honor was the fourth for Veazey, the first two coming at The Decatur Daily in Alabama and another at The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss.

PGA Tour gets FedEx renewal

The PGA Tour is keeping the FedEx Cup for at least five more years with a significant sponsorship renewal.

Commissioner Tim Finchem announced that FedEx has extended its umbrella sponsorship through 2017. That's the final piece of sponsorship renewal that the tour navigated through a troubling economic climate.

Finchem already has kept the PGA Tour fully sponsored -- only Tampa, Fla., is missing a title sponsor -- along with extending the television agreement through 2021. Now it can keep its FedEx Cup, which culminates with four big events and a $10 million bonus for the winner.

Finchem did not get into financial details, though he says there will be "some growth" during the next five years. The FedEx Cup offers a total bonus pool of $35 million.

GOLF

Luke Donald has become only the third No. 1 seed to lose in the opening round of the Match Play Championship. Ernie Els built an early lead and never let go in a 5-and-4 victory over the top-ranked player in the world at Marana, Ariz. Tiger Woods trailed Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano by one hole until winning the 15th and 16th, then holed an 8-foot par putt on the 18th hole to avoid going into extra holes.

COLLEGES

Boise State will remain in the Mountain West for the 2012-13 athletic seasons after considering an early move for its football program to the Big East. The school announced that it was not "fiscally responsible" to move its football program a year earlier than scheduled to the expanding Big East. The school remains on track to join the Big East in football for the 2013 season. ... Vanderbilt officials say the Atlantic Coast Conference has filed a formal complaint for one of its members with the Southeastern Conference involving the Commodores' football team. Several media outlets reported that Maryland coach Randy Edsall gave unconditional releases to three players, including quarterback Danny O'Brien, after originally trying to block any transfer to a handful of schools including Vanderbilt. The Commodores hired James Franklin as head coach in December 2010 away from Maryland, where he had been head coach in waiting to Ralph Friedgen. Vanderbilt vice chancellor of athletics David Williams said he will be thorough and timely in conducting an internal investigation into whether Franklin or anyone else on his staff tampered with Maryland players who intend to transfer, The Tennesseean reported.

The Memphis tennis team was listed as the 33rd-ranked team in the country by the ITA, its highest ranking in the history of the program. The undefeated 6-0 record which Memphis boasts ties the 1977 and 1979 teams for the longest winning-streak to open the season in program history. ... The Memphis-Austin Peay game scheduled for Wednesday was postponed due to overnight rain and and forecasted storms. No makeup date was immediately announced. ... The Christian Brothers vs. LeMoyne-Owen baseball game scheduled for Wednesday was rained out. It has been rescheduled to be a doubleheader next Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Buc Field.

Ole Miss women's tennis player Erin Stephens has been named the SEC Freshman of the Week as announced by the league office. She rallied to defeat SMU's Elena Fayner 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 at No. 3 singles to put the Rebels up 3-1 in the match. She also teamed with Gabby Rangel for an 8-1 win at No. 2 doubles, improving to 6-3 at that spot. ... Rhodes College senior Sharwil Bell was named to the Capital One Academic All-America Women's Basketball First Team, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America. The former Lausanne standout maintains a 3.94 GPA as a biology major.

AUTOS

Kasey Kahne was forced to a backup car after a wreck in practice for the Daytona 500. Kahne's new Chevrolet spun through the grass at Daytona International Speedway after Juan Pablo Montoya tapped the back of his car. Kahne, who will make his debut for new team Hendrick Motorsports in Sunday's season-opening race, also wrecked in last weekend's exhibition race at Daytona. He's down to his last car heading into today's 150-mile qualifying race.

BASEBALL

Ryan Howard took live batting practice in Clearwater, Fla., just the first time since he tore his left Achilles tendon while making the final out of the Philadelphia Phillies' season-ending 1-0 loss to St. Louis last postseason. ... While other Red Sox stars arrived early to training camp in Fort Myers, Fla., catcher Jason Varitek has not shown up for the first two days of workouts for Red Sox pitchers and catchers. ... Dodgers reliever Ronald Belisario says a positive test for cocaine was the reason he remained in Venezuela and didn't play in the majors last season.

TENNIS

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France and Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia won in straight sets to advance to the quarterfinals of the Open 13 at Marseille, France. Tsonga defeated Nicolas Mahut of France, 6-3, 6-2. The third-seeded Tipsarevic ousted Belgian qualifier David Goffin 6-4, 6-2. ... U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur defeated Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-1 to advance to the third round of the Dubai Tennis Championships at Doha. Defending champion Caroline Wozniacki topped Romania's Simona Halep 6-2, 6-3.